Exponential Conference

This week, I am in Orlando for the Exponential Church Planter's Conference. There have been some good speakers, and I have met some good, Godly men and women.

While talking with Alan Hirsch, I was struck with the notion that we need to be more than just a focus on mission in the community; we need to be committed to the mission in the community.

As David Bosch noted in his book, God is on mission (missio Dei), it is up to the church to join Him there.

Meeting at FBC Woodstock

I attended a Church Planter's meeting today at FBC Woodstock. It was nice to be around guys that are going through some of the same things I am.

Some of the things discussed were conflict, prayer, and communicating the vision. I am often amazed how much these are interrelated.

Our First Worship Celebration!

Today was the very first worship service for LifeTree Church, and the days
and weeks of prayer and preparation truly paid off. We had a great group of
26 people present. Kent Caperton led the worship music, and he was
excellent. Kent is a real pro.

I had a couple of things that I felt I could improve, but on the whole I
really feel like God was glorified today. We are now working towards the
second Sunday in February. Keep us in your prayers.

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10:19 AM

Gearing UP

2007 is almost gone and LifeTree Church is gearing up for an incredible
year! In TWO weeks, we are going to have our first worship service at
Allgood Elementary. If you are in the neighborhood on January 13, 2008, be
sure and drop in. Allgood Elementary is on Hart Road off of Hwy 61 (Villa
Rica Hwy). Get there around 10:30 am and help us with our very first worship
celebration.

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11:51 AM

October Update

Well, I have finished my dissertation and we are working like gangbusters on the church. It is really interesting how God works through us and finesses the vision. We are really focused on reaching families and have developed a small group discipleship design that will help us to make disciples within a family environment.

Please pray for LifeTree and for our leadership.

Beginning of August - Prayer Concerns

It is back to school time once again, and we at LifeTree Church are geared up. Last week we sponsored a breakfast for the teachers at Allgood Elementary, our meeting location. They seemed to have been pleased.

This summer we have been very busy. I have been working on my dissertation, watching the girls, and taking care of some LifeTree Church planning. Steven has moved to Paulding County and has begun working on his church planting responsibilities while working. Brian has been taking classes in New Orleans all summer and working on his church planting responsibilities. It is amazing how well we have adapted to multi-tasking. I pray that God would continue to give us the focus to handle life’s distractions while cultivating the church field.

I would like to give you a few prayer concerns we have at this point:

• Continue to pray for Kent Caperton and his family. His wife will have baby Julianne on September 13, and then Julianne will have a surgery within the first three days in order to correct a heart condition.
• Pray for our fundraising efforts. We are in the process of raising support towards a goal of $150,000. This amount will fund our equipment, facility rental, and outreach ministries for the first year. Check out the details at our website: http://lifetreechurch.org/prospectus.html.
• Pray for our launch team development. We are working towards developing a core group of people who will help launch the church next year. If you would like more information about the launch team, send me an email at jeff@lifetreechurch.org.
• Pray for the people of Paulding County that they will hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and come to know Him as their savior.

Thank you for your prayers and for your ministry.

July Prayer Requests

The one word that can best describe this summer is BUSY. Most of the busy-ness has been focused on me finishing the dissertation I have been working on. My goal is to finish it this summer so that I can focus on church planting in the fall. At the end of May, I made a major jump ahead, but now I am in the tedious stage of technical writing.

In June, the Perry family moved to Dallas, GA. As you are aware, we asked for prayer that Missi would find a job in the area, and I am happy to report that God faithfully answered your prayers. Missi was offered a great nursing job and has been getting settled on the job for the last couple of weeks.

LifeTree Church has begun having a weekly small group meeting on Sunday nights. Currently, we are studying what a disciple of Jesus Christ looks like.

Continue to pray for LifeTree Church as we seek to reach Paulding County. We are meeting some really wonderful people and opportunities for ministry are always present.